Results 1,361-1,380 of 4,305 for speaker:Martin Kenny

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Ports Development: Discussion (10 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: What change is required to move us from four or five years behind to one or two years behind? What is the prescription required?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Ports Development: Discussion (10 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: Following on from that, it was mentioned that Scotland had a big auction for floating wind. The particular advantage we have in Ireland is that the west and south coasts have huge potential due to high wind speeds. They also have very rough seas. Has the technology reached the stage to enable putting floating offshore in the types of waters we have? We have been hearing up until recently...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Ports Development: Discussion (10 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: I thank Mr. Keating. Coming back to the use of rail for the carriage of freight, my understanding is from speaking to somebody recently who told me he had expertise in these matters, but who can know, that one of the issues was that a great deal of the containers that come into Ireland are widely distributed. Containers come in off a ship, and if we were to put them on a train, it would not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Ports Development: Discussion (10 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: The electric trains will do that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Ports Development: Discussion (10 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: Mr. Kenny did not get in at all yet. He is listening intently. I am conscious that many of the freight terminals were closed in the past ten years. In fact, nearly all of them were closed. Are there plans to reopen them?

Transport Support Schemes for People with Disabilities: Motion [Private Members] (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: I commend the Regional Group on introducing this motion. It is now ten years since the mobility grant was taken away. Successive Governments have continued to promise that it will be replaced and that something would be done, but nothing has happened. I welcome the Minister's reference to ambition to deliver on this, but unfortunately ambition has been very lacking among his predecessors....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: The situation in west Tallaght is an example of the kind of problems we have. Many people depend on having a proper public transport system to be able to get to work and do their normal day-to-day business. We are encouraging people, especially those who live in urban areas, to use public transport but we find it often arrives late. Buses, in particular, have huge problems with delays. It...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: Another aspect of this is the retention of staff. It is a problem. There is a shortage of drivers across the country and across the world, especially for public transport utilities. The issue for many is that they do not particularly want to drive a bus, tram, Luas or whatever where they will be attacked or abused by people on a regular basis. Alternative employment is available to them....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: 3. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on safety measures for staff and passengers on board public transport. [20790/23]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: I wish to hear the Minister of State's views regarding safety measures, particularly for passengers and staff using public transport. For some time, in my previous role, I called for the establishment of a Garda transport division to protect people on public transport and the staff who run it. In many cases, there have been serious incidents of what is sometimes described as antisocial...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ports Policy (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: 1. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on development plans for the ports. [20789/23]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ports Policy (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: I wish to ask the Minister of State about the plans the Government has for the upgrading of our port system across the country. There are two aspects of this that we need to get to grips with. The first is the opportunities there are for wind energy at sea and the issues around infrastructure given that many of our ports, particularly those on the west and south coasts, do not have the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ports Policy (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: I thank the Minister of State. It is remarkable that a recent report said that Belfast Port is the only port on the island that has the infrastructure in place to facilitate the construction and maintenance of offshore wind energy generation. For a long time in this House we have talked about the opportunities that lie off our coast, and particularly the west and south coasts, for the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ports Policy (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: The whole issue of putting this infrastructure in place and the development of the capacity we need is completely beyond the ambition of this Government, which seems to be really lagging behind in developing the ports system in the State. It is one of the great disappointments that this opportunity exists and yet the Government is talking about publishing plans, doing reports and getting...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ports Policy (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: Is the Minister on board with that?

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: 31. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will outline a timeline for the commencement of the Metro North/Metro Link. [20792/23]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Electric Vehicles (4 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: 38. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the roll-out of EV charging points for the northwest; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20791/23]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Regulatory Impact Assessments (3 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: 272. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if a regulatory impact analysis will be conducted on the sale of alcohol Bill 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20276/23]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Measures (3 May 2023)

Martin Kenny: 273. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he is considering carrying out a public health assessment on the sale of alcohol Bill 2022, as recommended by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice in its pre-legislative scrutiny report of the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20277/23]

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Rail Network (27 Apr 2023)

Martin Kenny: On the report that was done, I am long enough around to know that when consultants are employed to carry out reviews, they very often have in mind what the result is going to be before they actually carry it out. That is very much the case in regard to the reviews that were put in place here. There has long been a reluctance on behalf of the Department of Transport to have anything to do...